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Our research committees

Convened by the Secretariat, the three IFSWF research committees are at the heart of the Forum. Through the committees, the IFSWF brings members together throughout the year to share knowledge and experience on specific issues. The committees work with carefully selected research and educational partners to bring members innovative new ideas and rigorous research to help members continue to upgrade their governance structures, investment strategies and risk management approaches.

Governance Committee

The Governance Committee is responsible for helping members apply the Santiago Principles to their own governance structures and processes. The committee is led by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). Other members include the Sovereign Wealth Fund Unit of Chile’s Ministry of Finance and the Palestine Investment Fund as well as Botswana’s Pula Fund, the China Investment Corporation and the Kuwait Investment Authority.

In recent years, the Governance Committee has sought to understand how the Santiago Principles can become more valuable for members as the membership has expanded and evolved. During this process, the Committee has moved away from its initial quantitative approach to developing a more rigorous, structured and detailed self-assessment format. This methodology enables IFSWF members to take account of the different circumstances of each of its members and allows for contextualised measures of their progress.

The Governance Committee works with SovereigNET at Tufts University's Fletcher School. The network is dedicated to the study of sovereign wealth management and its impact on global capital markets and is led by Dr Patrick Schena and Dr Eliot Kalter.

Investment Practice Committee

The Investment Practice Committee seeks to provide a consultative forum that can effectively address and discuss matters relating to investment and risk management. The committee is led by Italy’s CDP Equity (formerly the Fondo Strategico Italiano). Other members include the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, the Alberta Heritage and Trust Fund, Australia’s Future Fund, the Korea Investment Corporation, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Morocco’s Ithmar Capital, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman and the Palestine Investment Fund.

The IFSWF is committed to contributing to the development and maintenance of an open and stable investment environment and thereby supporting the guiding objectives underlying the Santiago Principles. The Investment Practice acts as a platform for exchanging views and promoting the understanding of best practice in relation to investment and risk management activities within sovereign wealth funds.

The Investment Practice Committee works with State Street with academic support from the Sovereign Investment Lab at Bocconi University in Milan.

Regulation and Representation Committee

The Regulation and Representation Committee contributes the perspective of sovereign wealth funds, as leading asset owners and long-term investors, to global dialogue and standard setting on financial policy, sustainable investment, financial stability, and the free flow of capital. The committee is led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Other members include Australia's Future Fund, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional, the Qatar Investment Authority and the China Investment Corporation.